Christmas Tide, Mistletoe And ‘2000 AD’: Time To Drokk The Halls For The Christmas Prog
by Richard Bruton
It’s getting that bit closer to that there Christmas time, and that means the announcement of the 2000 AD Mega-Christmas Prog…
Yep, the Christmas songs are playing in the shops and everyone’s getting stressed about the turkey, the cards, whether the tree has disintegrated in the attic, and just what to serve weird uncle Humphrey and aunt Lauren who’ve just announced they’re going fruitarian this season.
But, at least there’s one bit of great news for the Christmas season – 2000 AD have just announced the line-up for their traditional 100-page mega-special to mark the end of another fabulous year!
2000 AD Prog #2362 is out on Wednesday 13th December and includes a little bit of celebrity guest writing, as comedian and actor Rufus Hound joins artist Dan Cornwell on a brand-new one-off Strontium Dog tale, Alpha, where Johnny and Wulf get pulled into a domestic incident en-route to a job and find that the alien delicacy given to them as a gift soon sends things south and psychedelic!
Of course, that’s not all though – in the 100 pages of this years’ Xmas Prog blowout, you’ll find the ongoing tales Feral & Foe, Helium, Enemy Earth and The Devil’s Railroad, as well as a Christmas cracker full of one-off stories: a new Judge Dredd tale by Ken Niemand & Tom Foster, Azimuth by Dan Abnett & Tazio Bettin, Rogue Trooper by Geoffrey D. Wessel & Simon Coleby, Fiends of the Eastern Front by Ian Edginton & Tiernen Trevallion, Anderson, Psi-Div by Torunn Grønbekk and Kieran McKeown, and the aforementioned Strontium Dog by Rufus Hound & Dan Cornwell.
Rufus Hound has this to say about joining the ranks of the 2000 AD droids this Holiday season:
“I’d never believed that I’d get a chance like this. That ACTUAL 2000 AD would ask me – ME! – to write so much as a single syllable for their illustrious pages. Not only that, but to be given the opportunity to reimagine something from the golden era of Strontium Dog? Proper dream come true stuff.
‘Johnny Alpha always had it hard, but kept his upper-lip stiff and his chin granite-like. However, what if a diary of his was discovered? Something that peeled away a later or two of the man? That allowed us some insight into the mind of Johnny Alpha, not merely marvel at his tough-as-hell actions. That’s what ‘Alpha’ is.
‘I’ve filled my story with classic SD references, but I hope the greatest act of fan service is the tale itself. I’ve tried to give Wulf and Johnny something that I think most fans have always craved for them, whilst still letting them be Johnny and Wulf. With Carlos’ passing, getting this right seems even more important somehow. I just hope the amount of love and hard work I’ve lavished on it shines through.”
So, be sure to be looking for the great Christmas Prog, with that gorgeous cover by from Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague – on sale 13th December in the freezing cold UK & Ireland (and at some point from your local comic shop in the Americas – be sure to ask them to get it in for you!)
And if that wasn’t enough Christmas cheer from 2000 AD, they’ve also just announced three perfect new Christmas jumpers to confound and confuse family members around the dinner table this year.
Dredd ‘Ho Drokking Ho’, Nemesis ‘Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Be Merry,’ and a suitably green and yellow Strontium Dog to chose from!
They’re available from the Rebellion site, print on demand and international distribution centres means that this is one that should ship reasonably worldwide
